What is Biology Good For?
Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Through Biotechnology: ENBREL
What is Biology Good For?
Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Through Biotechnology: ENBREL
(This assignment is optional. Read this essay and answer the questions at the bottom for 3 extra credit points. It is not necessary to visit the links in the text unless you are interested in more information.)
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Rheumatoid Arthritis - Background
of the Disease
Arthritis literally means means "inflammation (=itis) of a
joint (=arthro)", and refers to a group of diseases that
cause pain,
swelling, stiffness and loss of motion in the joints, and also in the muscles, tendons,
ligaments, and bones. Both children and adults can develop almost
all types of arthritis. [Quote]
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that
chiefly affects the membranes of various joints in the body. RA
and Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) are diseases that strike adults and children and can
cause painful joint swelling, deformity, stunted growth and
increased mortality. According to the Arthritis Foundation, JRA
affects approximately 50,000 children in the United States. The
disease can impair a child's ability to take part in physical
activities, make daily activities such as schoolwork more
difficult and affect a child's physical appearance.
What causes Arthritis?
The disease is considered an autoimmune disease that is acquired (perhaps after a viral infection?) and
in which genetic factors appear to play a role. Autoimmune means that the person's body begins attacking and
destroying it's own tissues. Other examples of autoimmune
diseases are Diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis. In all of these
disorders, the exact cause of the autoimmune response is not
known.
In RA and JRA, the body produces proteins, called cytokines, that invade the joints and cause their linings to become swollen and painful. One of the cytokines that plays a major role in this process is called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Although everyone needs some TNF to help their immune system, researchers have found that people living with RA have elevated levels of TNF in their joints. Elevated levels of TNF are thought to be related to swelling, pain, and other effects of RA.
ENBREL: a new way to manage the
symptoms of RA and JRA
ENBREL
is a recombinant protein made by the Biotechnology company Immunex . ENBREL is very similar to a human protein called Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Receptor. The TNF Receptor
is found found naturally in the body and normally works to bind
TNF in healthy people. However, people with RA live with excess
levels of TNF in their bloodstream, which can cause or
exacerbates the symptoms of arthritis.
ENBREL is a modified, injectable form of the TNF Receptor
that works by capturing
the excess TNF in the bloodstream of
people with RA or JRA. By acting as a "molecular
sponge" to mop up excess levels of TNF, ENBREL brings the
levels of TNF in the bloodstream down to normal levels and
lessens the symptoms of RA. The binding of Enbrel to TNF renders
the TNF inactive, resulting in significant reduction in
inflammatory activity.
How Effective is ENBREL?
Enbrel has been studied in thousands of patients from ages four
to adult. Seventy-four
percent of the study participants
demonstrated a clinical response to Enbrel, measured by the RA
and JRA Definition of Improvement.
Medical studies have shown that ENBREL can work as early as two weeks, with most people deriving maximum benefits within three months. At 3 months, two out of three people were better able to
ENBREL has been so successful in
fighting arthritis that there is a 1,000 patient waiting list for
it. At present about 350,000 patients are using the drug. The
drug had slightly over $750 million in sales in 1999, making it
the fastest biotech launched drug in history. The down side of
this injectable drug is that it costs about $12,000 per year to
use. Weighed against this cost is the fact that methotrexate, a
standard therapy for RA and JRA, costs only about $1,500 per year
and comes in pill form.
Althought this drug has a high cost, its benefits are clear for
patients with rheumatoid arthritis. "Children with JRA face
the possibility of a lifetime of pain and disability," said
Daniel Lovell, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatric rheumatologist at
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati.
"Rheumatologists have had limited options to treat children
with moderate to severe arthritis. The approval of Enbrel for JRA
opens a new era of hope for these children, teen-agers and their
families."
Information for this Good
For was obtained from the following sources:
ENBREL Backgrounder
Immunex
FDA Approves Enbrel for JRA
Rheumatoid Arthritis- Enbrel and TNF- Part II
Questions: 3 points extra credit. Click on the links for more information! One sentence should be enough to answer each question . Once you hit 'submit', you will receive a Thank You confirmation page.
Please type your Student ID
Number:
LAST name followed by
first initial or first name:
1. What is TNF and what does it do to
cause or increase the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
2. What does ENBREL do to TNF in the body of patients with
Rheumatoid Arthritis?
3. How much more expensive is ENBREL than Methotrexate, the
standard drug for treatment of arthritis?
You may change your mind as
often as you wish. When you are satisfied with your responses
click the SUBMIT button. You will receive a "THANK YOU"
page as a confirmation that your response has been sent to me.
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